Set Me on Fire
by Sky Astor
Summary: The events after an innocent trip goes wrong... Whouffaldi.


A/N: The idea to write this short ficlet just came to my mind out of thin air... The main part was written at 2AM. xD

I'm sorry, but I hope you will like it anyway.

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 **Set Me on Fire**

A once beautiful city was now slowly dying after a massive attack of the Cybermen. Most of the buildings were ablaze and some of them even collapsed and created dense clouds of dust on the ground where the inhabitants run around in horror. At least the ones who were still alive – the rest got upgraded. The air was hot, thick and acrid, making it hard to breathe. No one managed to escape this hell. Almost no one.

x

The Doctor carried her dead body away to a little hill above the burning city. Tears made his sight all blurry and he could barely see the narrow path in front of him. When he was far enough from danger, he knelt down and he laid her body carefully on the ground. His knees were too weak anyway, so he collapsed next to her. He used his last energy to crawl as close as he could before he passed out.

xxxxx

The Doctor was lying partly on her body with his nose buried into her neck. His leg was protectively swung over hers. One of his hands was resting on Clara's shoulder whilst the other was wrapped around her body. When he regained consciousness, his eyes started watering again and tears ran down his cheeks, continuing their way to her neck. His sobbing was now and then interrupted by desperate pleadings.

"Please, my Clara, don't do this," he whispered against her skin that was getting colder with every moment.

He knew his impossible girl was dead, yet he begged her a few times more and his grip on her shoulder tightened as if it would bring her back to life.

He was screaming on the inside, feeling how the unbearable pain was consuming him. In his agony he even forgot how long he'd been lying there. It could be around forty minutes… Around forty minutes of crying, waiting and hoping that she would wake up and look at him with her beautiful chocolate eyes.

A piercing scream coming from the city below caught his attention. He turned his head in that direction, not letting go of Clara's dead body.

The city was in flames, some houses collapsed and people died in their ruins. The ones who stayed alive got captured by Cybermen, who were collecting people for their Cybermen-army. Just a few inhabitants were left now. The slaughter was slowly coming to an end.

He could have helped the few remaining people, but why would he bother? They didn't matter to him – nothing mattered to him anymore. Everything inside of him was dead now, only the pain was fully alive, tearing him apart.

His glistening red eyes returned to his Clara, who looked like as if she was sleeping. Darkness filled his mind even more when he remembered that exact moment his precious companion looked at him for the last time.

It hurt. It hurt so badly.

His aching head was full of regrets because he'd had never confessed his love to her. A few "What if's" flashed through his head, but he didn't find any answers. He was too tired.

He inhaled deeply and tried to get himself together as he wiped the tears in his sleeve. His shaking, cold hand travelled to her face to caress it. Then he lowered himself to press his lips softly against hers. They slight cold of them increased the pain and darkness in his body.

Then he whispered in her ear, "Goodbye, my Clara. I love you."

He straightened up and knelt beside her dead body whilst he looked at her for the last time and took all her beauty in.

When he got on his feet, he took his black coat off to cover her body with it. He let his screwdriver in the pocket – he wouldn't need it anymore.

 _This is it. The darkest day. The blackest hour. Chin up, shoulders back._

He remembered these words he had once said to her. His body was shivering with cold, his legs were tired and a little shaky… and yet he managed to walk fearlessly and with grace when he headed back to the city, so he could reunite with his Clara.


End file.
